Ahimsa

Hello all. I just wanted to type a short post, based on somthing I have been thinking of as of late. Ahisma means non-harming. Our society is built around pushing. Pushing others to do what we want them to do, pushing out minds to learn, pushing ourselves to work harder. We are in a world that is focused on harm. When I think about it, all this pushing that we do, really does cause harm. We are not taght to be in touch with others feelings, with others thoughts, with our thoughts, and our feelings. We are very much rewarded for pushing ourselves, for working over time, for running that extra mile, for avoiding that second piece of dessert. I believe that this is somthing that we need to counter act in ourselves. If we want to live a happy and balanced life, we need to take this concepts of non-harming into our focus. We need to look at all that is, and we need to make peace with it. There is balance between moving forward, and loving what is. This is non-harm. We need to look at our goals, and figure out, are they a souce of harm, to me or anyone else? And if so, why? Is there a way to accomplish a goal that does not cause harm? Or should we maybe be looking at our goal, and doing some re-organizing? I want to end with this quote, that I think is a beautiful picture of self love, non-harm.
The rose; "When we plant a rose seed in the earth, we notice that it is small, but we do not criticize it for being footless and stemless. We treat it as a seed, giving it the water and nourishment required of a seed. When it first shoots up out of the earth, we don't condemn it as immature and underdeveloped, nor do we criticize the buds for not being open when they appear. We stand in wonder at the process that's taking place and give the plant and care it needs at each stage of its delevopment. The rose is a rose from the time it is a seed to the time it dies. Within it, at all times, it contains its full potential. It seems to be constantly in the process of change, yet at each state, at each moment, it is perfectly all right, perfectly okay, just as it is."-W.Timothy Gallwey, The Inner Game Of Tennis